


Birthday Fruits

by Ammet_tua



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Lance's Birthday, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 11:01:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15435639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ammet_tua/pseuds/Ammet_tua
Summary: Keith and Lance don't start with the right step. Luckily things change.





	Birthday Fruits

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I wasn't planning to post this before the date, but I was very sick and I didn't know if I was going to be able to post it so, here it is, something to celebrate the blue paladin. 
> 
> The paladins are supposed to have elemental powers, it's not relevant to the plot but you have to know so you don't get lost at some part. Also, they are apprentinces of the former paladins. So enjoy!

The apprentice to red paladin came down the stairs with that elegance he had learned from King Alfor himself and that was so characteristic of him. He was wearing his training armor, since it was joint training with the other apprentices.

As soon as he got to the training room, he couldn’t help but look away to where Lance, apprentice of blue paladin, was chatting happily with two other apprentices.

Something stirred in his stomach, annoying him enough to look away from the scene.

He still couldn’t find a name for the infuriating sensation it caused him, but he knew perfectly well that he shouldn’t feel. First because Keith wasn’t there to make friends. Or at least, that was what he said to himself. When you are alone for a long time, you get used to the idea that nobody is there for you when you need it the most. You forget how to treat people. And second, because  _ Keith himself _ was the cause of Lance’s behavior towards him.

If Lance ignored him, it was nothing but  _ his _ fault. And Keith was very, very aware of that.

Since Lance had arrived at the Castle of Lions, he had wanted nothing but to be his friend. But Keith had remained reluctant and distant toward Lance.

He had seen his whole life how emotions distract people from their goals, in addition to that, the relationships always ended, and never in a good way. Friends who never spoke again, couples who dedicated themselves to destroy each other after a bad breakup. Keith was not willing to go through the same once again.

His only goal was to pilot the red lion and be the pride of his teacher and mentor, King Alfor of Altea.

More than once, the king had explained that to be and for to be part of Voltron, Keith must establish a deep bond not only with his lion, but with the other pilots of the remaining lions.

Keith was sure that he could maintain the bond of companionship with them, if necessary, but no more.

According to him.

Shiro, apprentice to black paladin and next team leader, was the only one with whom Keith could speak. He knew him from a long long time and thanks to him, he had becomes selected as an apprentice at Voltron. He always helped him when Keith didn’t know what to do. The only person who had shown him that he would be for him, no matter what. With time, he came to consider him as a brother. And like the king, Shiro insisted that he should approach the other paladins.

Keith had seen Pidge and Hunk work together as a team, by themselves and with Shiro. I wasn’t that Keith hadn’t. Actually, they made a good team, but for Keith it only consisted on that.

Until Lance appeared.

Apparently, like him and Shiro, Hunk and Lance had met a long ago, Pidge only a while later. And when Lance realized that Shiro was part of the team, he almost exploded with happiness. He not only knew two of the apprentices before, but he knew Shiro’s whole history and his achievements. Lance admired him fervently. And, of course, there was Keith,  _ another _ member of the team. So when Shiro introduced him to Lance, it was no wonder that Keith felt strangely out of place.

With the constant jokes of Lance and tricks he used to do with waters, Keith found himself compromised and constantly confused by the cheerful apprentice, and to avoid all of this, he insisted on despising him.

The drop that spilled the glass happened when Lance appeared happily in the door of his rooms with some juniberry fruits to share.

To his bad luck, Keith was in a bad mood that day.

Filled by Lance’s insistence, he burned the apples in Lance’s hands, and Lance dropped them on the ground in flames. Hands red from the heat, but no serious burns.

Keith would never forget Lance’s face at that moment. Immediately he regretted his actions, but the damage was done. 

Lance shouted at him furiously about how much work it had taken to lower them from a tree in the castle gardens. In the end, he told him that he would leave him alone and that he wouldn’t bother him again.

Keith has thought that the next day he would have Lance on him, insistently as usual, but he was wrong. Lance had appeared in the training room and smiled at everyone, including the princess, who was always in each joint practice, accompanied by Coran, her royal assistant.

Since then, Lance not only didn’t talk to him but, out of all that was needed as a team, Lance ignored him. 

The problem now was that he felt terribly wrong. He would get mad every time he saw him smiling with someone else. With everyone except him.

Those cheerful animated smiles were over. And it was all  _ his _ fault.

He went to Shiro for advice, who listened attentively while Keith talked and walked form one die of the room to the other in a clearly attempt to calm down. He sighed. 

Keith saw it coming.

After a long conversation about how to trust other people was not wrong, Shiro told him that he should fix things with Lance, not only for the sake of the team, but also for his own well-being.

 

The training that that had been normals, but Keith was determined to do something. He was not willing to continue with this situation. The previous night he hadn’t sleep at all, thinking and rambling to himself and he had come to the conclusion that, perhaps, having more friends was not a bad thing. 

But first he had to repair the damage caused.

He walked through the castle gardens until he faced the juniberries, and now was sure where Lance had cut the fruits.

It was a tall tree not very leafy. He climbed nimbly by the trunk, watching his steps because he didn’t want to fall, hurt himself and undergo an interrogation later by the king. Although he was sure it might not bother him at all, but it was something Keith didn’t wanted to do. It was his pride at stake.

Once up, he cut four of the fruits. He wondered if he should take some more for the rest of the team, but he decided that it could wait.

The descent was difficult. He arranged the four fruits in his arms so they wouldn’t fall and be mistreated. Besides not breaking his neck. Cursing under his breath, he scolded himself for not having brought something with him to load the fruits mores easily. Sometime he hated being so impulsive. Two scapes later, he succeeded.

Throughout the afternoon he looked for Lance through the castle. Apparently, he had become popular overnight. Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, even Allura and Coran were looking for him because they needed him. That, or it was because Keith really had not paid enough attention. Probably the last one.

He decided to wait for him in the vicinity of the water garden on Hunk’s advice. He had approached him to ask if he had seen him and after the third time, Hunk took pity on him saying that at some point, Lance would appear around to practice on his own with the water.

Keith scolded himself for not having thought about it before. On several occasions, he had seen him sit on the edge of the pond and play with the water. Anyway, every time Keith had catched him there, Lance was alone. So at least, nobody would see them.

He didn’t know when he fell asleep until he felt someone shaking him and calling him from far away. He felt angry about to wake up, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself facing Lance’s eyes that were watching him curiously.

“I’m sorry Keith. I know how much it bothers you that I talk to you, but you fell asleep. I thought I should wake you up before you rolled into the pond.” Lance was on his knees beside him. He stood up without taking his eyes off of Keith, whose presence in Lance’s favorite place, couldn’t explain, but neither of them argue.

Keith shifted his gaze to Lance for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. Lance felt intimidated by that look.

“Well! Now that you’ve woken up, I’m leaving,” Lance said, pointing with his thumb toward the castle.

Keith tried to get up to chase after him, and as he did so, one of his hands touched one of the fruits he had left aside.

“Lance, wait!”

He turned as Keith got up and took the fruits from the ground in his hands. Four fruits that didn’t bring him good memories.

“Lance, I-” Keith was never been good with words and when it also involves emotions it was even more difficult. A lost cause. But he had to try. He pressed the fruits in his hands. “I know I have not behaved well with you and… I know you just wanted to be my friend. I treated you that way because I didn’t understand that having friends is not a bad thing. Here,” he said, holding out the fruits. “This is because of that one time.”

Keith felt the urge to run. Her cheeks burned in a way he had never experienced before, his heart was beating with incredible speed. It was curious to him how that always happened when he was in the presence of the blue paladin apprentice.

Lance looked at him suspiciously, thinking that maybe it was a bad joke or something similar. Keith had always been cruel to him and now he was afraid that everything was part of a deception to hurt him. But a look at Keith’s eyes and he somehow knew that he was sincere.

Smiling, Lance approached Keith making Keith’s heart beat faster.

“I will accept them with one condition.”

“What?”

“Let’s share them.” Lance smiled, more broadly. Keith accepted, smiling timidly.

They talked while eating the fruits together, not realizing that form the balconies of the castle, Shiro watched them with folded arms and a smile on his face. At his side, Allura and Coran joked about how it was time to move forward in joint training.

Keith found that he had been wrong all this time with Lance. Not everything was a joke with him like he had thought, but Lance knew many interesting things about space, stars and the sea. It turned out he was a pleasant companion even in spite of their personalities so different from one another.

Both had to leave, because it was getting late. In the corridors, about to separate each one to his bedroom, Lance promised to accompany Keith to explore a cave he had discovered on the outskirts of the castle. Lance had been impressed with that since they were not allowed to leave and all the asides and entrances were well guarded. Keith smiled with pride. 

Lance also convinced him to take the others. It cost him a little more work, but in the end Keith agreed.

Lance watched him walk down the hall, wondering if he could keep Keith’s scent in his memory. One of the things Lance liked the most about Keith was his smell, like wood.

He didn’t know what had happened, but he was happy that Keith had finally become his friend. He had told Hunk that something extraordinary would happen that day, and something always happens on his birthday.

That day, Lance turned one year older. He hadn’t mentioned it to Keith but he would have a chance.

To think that he had tortured Shiro, Coran and Allura for more than a week by posting notes everywhere that indicated their birthday would be soon. And what about Hunk and Pidge, whom he had tortured with his songs, most of them announcing his birthday. Also he begged Hunk for him to prepare his favorite dessert.

Actually he had been quite annoying with everyone. 

But somehow, Keith had given him something more important. He didn’t know what yet, but something inside him told him that he would have time to find out. And that he wouldn’t do it alone.

He returned to his room, tired but cheerful. The day had been exhausting.

 

What Lance and Keith didn’t know was that, from that day, an invisible bond had formed between them. One that was already there. A bond that would unite them for life and that they had been dragging form past lives. 

The friendship that had begun that day, time later will evolve, becoming something stronger. They would have to pass tests with it, but that is a history for another time.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I'm going to continue with this AU, maybe if you like it I will.  
> I'm planning on writing something for Keith's birthday too, but honestly, I don't know what to write, so if you have a suggestion, feel free to shoot me a [DM.](https://crystalheartsthings.tumblr.com/)  
> This work don't have a beta, but if you know someone who will like to do it... yeah.  
> And because I don't have shame, and but if you like it, check out my other [fic.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14822615/chapters/34301318)  
> 


End file.
